Google to produce, sell own Nexus One phones: report

Google Inc plans to sell its own cellphone direct to consumers as soon as next year, bypassing wireless operators in a rare strategic move, the Wall Street Journal cited sources as saying on Saturday.Called the Nexus One and made by smartphone maker HTC, the phone will run on the search giant's Android operating system -- around which Motorola and other cellphone makers have built devices -- and will be sold online, the newspaper cited persons familiar with the matter as saying. Cellular service will have to be bought separately, it added.The Internet search leader may be sounding a challenge to wireless carriers as well as smartphone makers. It marks a departure for the leader in Web advertising, which has rarely sold devices directly to consumers, the newspaper said. Analysts say the aim is to gain access to valuable consumer data that can be used to sell ads at premium prices, rather than to make money from direct hardware sales, as companies such as Nokia or Research in Motion do.